How will/must Trump and Congress interact?

Great Debates
1

One of the concerns I’ve seen from the start with Republicans controlling Congress is that they’ll rubber stamp anything Trump wants that they don’t mind, and in return, Trump will sign off on anything he doesn’t care about basically without reading it.

I’m trying to figure out how that’ll work, and if that’s what will really happen. I mean, I suppose it’s possible, but given preexisting relationships and temperaments, the potential for conflict seems a lot higher than some seem to be assuming. How many Congresspeople actually think NATO is obsolete, for example, and will let Trump make that official policy in silence? Not to mention the issues on which some conservatives have used to argue that he’s actually liberal.

I realize that Trump’s unpredictability is one reason this is hard to discuss, but I still think that on a scale of one to ten, where one is complete blissfully harmony and ten is 2008-16, the relationship between the President and Congress is, best case scenario, a 5.

Thoughts?

2

I think there are some conservative dogma things that will be rubber stamped - like tax cuts and large deficits - but it sure sounds like Trump is going to throw out some crazy ass ideas. No way Congress passes an actual $1 trillion infrastructure bill, for example.

I think Trump is going to have a very hard time working with Congress. He will not be the boss giving orders. This is an entirely new manner of business for him, as far as I can tell. If he does this Jekyll and Hyde thing like he did during the campaign - where someone is the best and greatest one day, then tweets about what a loser they are the next, relations are going to founder.

Keep in mind that the number one priority of every politician is getting reelected, not walking the plank on crazy, 3am tweetstorm ideas.

3

Trump will try to make “deals” with congress. The smarter members of congress will kick his ass. The dumber members will be too gobstruck by his fame and try to be sycophantic.

4

I think the number one priority of Trump is Trump. And if he thinks he’ll do better for himself as a one-termer, then he won’t even try to get re-elected. Been there done that.

I think it’s best to think of Trump as if he were an Independent. Almost like a Jesse Ventura Gov of MN. He has no real history with the Republican party, and has had many stances in the past that are contrary to fundamental Republican principles. If he’s anything, he’s a Populist Independent and unless he turns the Republican party into a Populist party, then he’s, to a certain extent, an outsider.

5

I dunno - he looks a little like a populist and his fans seem to think he’s a populist, but the guy strikes me more as a potential autocrat. If I had to choose between:

a) He’ll fight against the establishment for the little guy!

b) He’s a strong man who’ll smite our enemies!

… I gotta go with (b). Heck, even his devout followers don’t seem to be under the illusion that he’s going to fight for them (or if they are, they’ll quickly be disabused), but rather that he’s going to fight the people they dislike, all those people trying to make them eat their vegetables (and treat women, blacks and homosexuals fairly).

6

What I will be watching for, is the biggest difference I see between Trump and Obama: an eager willingness on Trumps part, to yell scream and fuss when he doesn’t get what he wants.

It’s been my opinion from the start, that Obama played “too nice.”

Now, I don’t at all like at least half of what Trump has said he wants to do, but since he denies having ever said most of what he has said, I have no idea what he will actually fight for.

Small structural point: although the “news” people commonly and erroneously repeat that “the President has sent thus and such a bill to congress,” in reality, an actual member of congress must claim to be proposing the legislation. The President can’t actually write bills himself. So all Presidents have to have a number of allies in each house of Congress, to officially write and propose legislation.

Trump can’t act entirely on his own, he will have to form alliances with the leaders of the Congressional committees that decide which bills get to be heard at all. Usually, there are plenty of people in positions of such power, eager to sell out to anyone who they are convinced are popular with their own home constituencies, so I know Trump will find allies, even as he insults them.

I have seen repeatedly, the the Republican Party does not actually believe a lot of what it pretends to stand fast for, any more than any other group of politicians do. During Reagan’s time in office, they eagerly voted to ignore deficits year after year, and only began to revert to finding them problematic again, when the Democrats came back into control. So they may well spend the money Trump wants them to now, as well.

It is certainly going to be entertaining. At least until the Chinese follow through on their threat of war, over their ongoing efforts to expand control into the entire eastern pacific.

7

Mostly yes, you’re right…but the President (or his people) can write up a bill, complete to the last comma, and hand it to a friendly Congresscritter to be sponsored. So, kinda, the President (or corporations, or special interest groups) can write “model legislation” with all the details they want, and can very often find a Congressman or Senator who’ll “rubber stamp” it for them.

The NRA has been doing this for a damn long time…

8

The CT about Republicans impeaching Trump so they can hand the crown to their man Pence is still on the board. From Trump’s nominees he seems interested in a hyper-capitalist, defund everything until we can privatize it, slash and burn ideology. Republicans will go along with that.

The Twitter denouncements will be wonderful, assuming he doesn’t get banned for harassment. I wouldn’t be surprised if he started listing off names of those blocking the will of the people. What will be interesting is if his threats have any teeth, or if his approval ratings will nose dive and his protests will be ignored. He really wouldn’t like that.

9

The President may also propose legislation:

[QUOTE=US Constitution, Article 2, Section 3]

He shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient
[/QUOTE]

10

No, again, The President can TALK to Congress, and make them aware of his desires and concerns. And as someone said above, he can have actual Congresspeople and Senators present legislation on his/her behalf.

But the point is, what the President CAN’T do, is arrange for Congress to pass laws without at least SOME of it’s members cooperating with him.